Sostro (;
[''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna.]) is a formerly independent settlement in the eastern part of the capital
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
in central
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. It is part of the traditional region of
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south an ...
and is now included with the rest of the municipality in the
Central Slovenia Statistical Region
The Central Slovenia Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in central Slovenia.
Geography
This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km2, with a central po ...
. In addition to the main settlement, Sostro includes the hamlet of Betežica, located to the northeast along Betežčica Creek, and the hamlet of Glastavci in the wooded hills above Betežica.
[Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 366–367.] Sostro is also the source of the name of the
Sostro District (), the largest district of the capital.
Name
Sostro was first attested in written sources as ''Czozter'' in 1353 (and as ''Zozter'' in 1356, and ''ze Oster'' and ''Soster'' in 1342). The medieval attestations indicate that the name was originally *''Coster'', with later assimilation of ''C–s–'' to ''S–s–''. *''Coster'' is presumably derived from
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...
''ze Ôster'' 'at the east', likely referring to the nearby castle at Osterberg (literally, 'east mountain'; )
above
Podgrad.
Osterberg Castle was the first castle east of Ljubljana, built in the 13th century.
Sostro thus means 'at the place to the east'. Locally, Sostro is known as ''Sostr''
and in the past the German name was ''Sostru''.
For similar Slovene geographical names based on foreign-language prepositional phrases of location, compare ''
Cmurek'', ''
Crngrob
Crngrob (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 62.) is a small village in the Municipality of Škofja Loka in the Upper Carniola region of ...
'', ''
Cven'', ''
Dragonja
The Dragonja (; ) is a long river in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is a meandering river with a very branched basin and a small quantity of water. It has a pluvial regime and often dries up in summer. It features very diverse ...
'', and ''
Spuhlja
Spuhlja (, in older sources ''Spuhla'', ) is a settlement in the Municipality of Ptuj in northeastern Slovenia. It lies east of the town of Ptuj, just north of Lake Ptuj (a reservoir on the Drava, Drava River). The area is part of the traditional r ...
''.
History
Roman urn graves have been found in the woods behind the church in Sostro, testifying to early settlement of the area. Schooling was begun in Sostro in 1869, when the first schoolhouse was built. A new school building was built in 1913. During the Second World War, Italian forces executed hostages below Dimnik Hill () behind the village. This is commemorated by a plaque.
Sostro was annexed by the City of Ljubljana in 1982, ending its existence as an independent settlement.
[''Spremembe naselij 1948–95''. 1996. Database. Ljubljana: Geografski inštitut ZRC SAZU, DZS.]
Church

A church dedicated to Saint Leonard () was mentioned in written sources as early as the 14th century. The old church was razed after it was damaged in the
earthquake of 1895, and a new church was built slightly further south in 1898 in a pseudo-Romanesque style. Furnishings preserved from the old church include a 1750 painting of Saint Elizabeth by
Valentin Metzinger (1699–1759), a painting of Saint Florian by
Josip Egartner, and a painting of Saint Leonard by
Janez Wolf Janez may refer to:
People:
* Janez (given name), a Slovene given name
* Janež, a Slovene surname
In music:
* Janez Detd., a Belgian rock band
May also refer to a semi-pejorative term used in the Croatian North and beyond for Slovenes
The ...
(1825–1884). Stained glass windows designed by Stane Kregar (1905–1973) were installed in 1968. Sostro was made a
vicariate
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
in 1753 and later elevated to a parish.
References
External links
*
Sostro on Geopedia
{{Ljubljana
Localities of Ljubljana
Sostro District